I am thrilled to have the opportunity to step into the role of marketing manager for Passive House Buildings. My introduction to Passive House started a little more than five years ago, when the design-build firm my husband and I co-own in Connecticut was engaged by a local architect to build a Passive House. We anticipated the home’s superior energy efficiency performance, but witnessing the additional quality-of-life benefits—vastly improved comfort and superior air quality—was a game changer. With that project as a teaching tool, the buzz about Passive House ignited enough interest to launch the first passive housing designer/consultant training in our state, which ultimately, led to the formation of Connecticut Passive House. Growing the Passive House industry, one state at a time.
In the same spirit, I believe in this publication’s purpose and its power to inform and inspire, demonstrating Passive House success stories in a variety of settings and markets. As a trained Climate Reality Leader, I fully appreciate that employing Passive House strategies ensures that our buildings can be part of the solution to meeting reduced emission and decarbonization targets, zero-energy initiatives, and resiliency strategies.
As 2019 unfolds, I invite all of you to consider how you can further spread the word about Passive House. By all means, please do share this magazine—either in hard copy or digitally, by sharing this link: www.passivehousebuildings.com.
In the pages of this magazine you will see notifications for a number of events, and I encourage you to look beyond your own silo of expertise and consider attending an event that might not otherwise have been on your radar. Practicing what I preach, I can attest to the benefits of playing in different sandboxes. Last year, I went to a local Health and Wellness in Our Buildings workshop in Hartford. The wealth of data linking health outcomes to buildings was mind blowing and reinforced for me the impact we are making on people’s lives when we build to the Passive House standard.
When I look back at the body of work represented on the pages of this publication, what stands out is the impressive diversity and breadth of Passive House projects being built in North America. Bravo. Thank you to all those who shared their project details and photos and to our talented body of writers who contributed their insights and wisdom on climate, policy developments, and building science.
And last but not least, a very special thank you to every company, organization, and individual who has supported this magazine’s mission either by advertising or by helping to ensure that our magazine is distributed at all of the major green building, high-performance building, and Passive House events across the country. And of course, at local events, many of them hosted by a Passive House organization in your state.
Through our collective efforts, we are building a movement, and with it, the capacity to meet the growing demand for passive building in North America. Bring it on.
